Page 11 of Tyler

“Absolutely.”

“Of course.”

The women’s responses overlapped.

“And the walk will help us burn calories, which means we can eat more donuts,” Abby pointed out before she popped the last of a glazed morsel into her mouth.

“I like the way you think, Abs.” Stef grinned. “So, what exactly are you having Brandi do to your building, Piper?”

Happy to answer, she went on to explain her vision for the long-abandoned building, with its old architecture, high ceilings and large loft space that hadn’t been touched in decades. Until now. Brandi was not only a friend, but she was also an accredited interior designer, and Piper was ecstatic over the final design.

“You’re renovating it from four businesses into one?” Christa asked, settling back in her seat.

Piper nodded. “Yes. The gallery, office, and storage will be on the first floor, and the second will be sectioned off into two large spaces. One will be my apartment, and the other a large studio where I can paint.”

She’d saved and scraped up for years to own her own gallery and studio. It was surreal that her dream was in the making. She smiled. Well, in therenovating.

“Will you just be selling your work?” Abby asked.

Piper shook her head. “No, I’d like to highlight the local talent around here too. So, if you or anyone you know happens to have any pieces of artwork they created and want to sell, we should talk.”

“Wow, that’s great,” Mel said. “I just might take you up on that.”

Christa nodded. “Thank you. I’m actually working on something now.”

“I’d love to see it sometime,” she said, and the woman responded with a smiling nod.

“What about you, Stef?” Abby asked. “You’re an incredible artist too.”

Mel stood with her empty cup in hand. “Yes. Stef’s designed some killer tattoos for my shop, and they’re some of the most popular with walk-ins,” she stated, refilling her cup.

“And she’s designed a lot of great business logos too,” Abby informed, pointing to the girls in the room. “All of ours, actually, plus the bakery.”

A blush rose up into the brunette’s face. “Thanks, guys. And yeah, I enjoy designing tattoos, invitations, business cards, logos, and just about anything. Do you have one, Piper?”

“Actually, I don’t,” she said, having drawn a blank as to what to call her gallery. Until she nailed that, the logo had to wait. “I’d love to hire you because I definitely need help in that area.”

Stef grinned. “I’d be happy to work with you on it. I know I have some free time in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.”

“Perfect,” Piper said, and after they settled on a time, she circled back around to Abby’s unanswered question to Stef. “So, do you have any artwork you’d want to sell through the gallery?”

The woman wiped her fingers on a napkin before scratching her temple. “I’ve dabbled with a few prints. I like the ink medium the most.”

Seriously?

Piper smiled. “I think ink prints will be the perfect accent to go with the building’s architecture. I’d love to see them as well. And none of you need to drop everything to work on your pieces. It’ll be a eight to ten weeks before the gallery is finished,” Piper informed.

Mostly due to zoning. Brandi had explained to her that they couldn’t take the walls down and start renovating until the county approved the blueprints and issued the permits.

“Perfecr. It’ll give everyone time to get some pieces done, right?” Abby asked and the women nodded.

Piper turned to Rylee and Abby. “What about you two? Do you dabble?”

“Me?” The blonde snorted. “No.”

“That’s not true. You create masterpieces with your sheers,” Mel exclaimed, pointing to her head. “I’m living proof.”

The redhead did sport a cute pixie cut that was perfect for her bone structure.

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